There are 7 owner-reported driver assist & adas complaints for the 2018 Audi Q5in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2019 Audi Q5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, with no other vehicles or objects nearby, the Forward Collision Avoidance system unintendedly activated. The contact stated that within seconds, the Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking system engaged, greatly reducing the speed before returning to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to diagnose the failure with Forward Collision Avoidance system. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.
Such incident happened two times: when I was driving at normal speed, another vehicle quickly approached me from back while switching to my lane. Out of any instruction, my vehicle applied brakes to decelerate. This almost caused crash and put my safety at high risk!
We purchased our 2018 AUDI Q5 in May 2018, which currently has 31,567 miles. Having done the majority of the driving, I am pleased overall, and continue to be a proud AUDI owner. However, as with all new cars, we had some glitches. For example, when backing out of the garage, the pre-sense would activate for no apparent reason, causing the brakes to lock up This happened three times and each time the Service Department was able to recalibrate the system. I felt the problem was resolved until recently when it occurred for the fourth time. This is not the reason for my letter but is intended to provide background information I feel is related to a more serious problem. Recently I have experienced situations that concern my safety and the safety of my passengers, not to mention other drivers, especially those immediately behind me. On two occasions while driving on the open road, the brakes have slammed on even though, fortunately, there were no other vehicles or impairments near us. (Incident dates: 05/28/2023 and 06/09/2023.) It was indeed a frightening experience, to the point where my wife will not drive the car believing that the potential for another incident could occur (reference previously mentioned backup issues). My AUDI Advisor, whom I highly regard, has provided me with a five step procedure for bypassing the associated emergency braking pre-sensor(s), which requires being activated with each drive cycle. I did some online investigating and discovered that this is a known problem since at least 2016 as you will read in the attached article. Also included is a related Audi Technical Service Bulletin. https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b9-platform-discussion-212/permanently-disable-pre-sense-2945351/ https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10176756-0001.pdf Reference Page 7. After years of known awareness on the part of AUDI corporate, I would conclude this work-around is not a fix but a design flaw and known safety risk.
Two issues. My temperature housing unit is leaking coolant. This car has very low mileage and is barely driven so it is very strange that this part is already defective. Seems the original integrity of the part may not have been good. Second, My Audi pre sense comes on while the car is driving and brings the car to a screaming halt as is there is something in the cars path. The problem is there is nothing in the cars path when this feature kicks in . It’s quite dangerous as this has happened to me while driving on busy roads .
The cars emergency brake system malfunctioned on our 2018 Audi Q5 Premium Plus, causing the brakes to lock up for no reason while traveling on a busy street at 35 mph. The force of the braking was enough to cause a bruise from the seatbelt. The risk is potential loss of control of the car, especially if this occurred at a higher speed, or being rear ended. We immediately took the car to an Audi dealer who could not ID an issue from looking at fault codes. We have been experiencing other bogus warning messages: light system warning (nothing wrong), engine RPM exceeded warnings (engine RPMs never close to being exceeded), phone SOS errors. NO warnings or symptoms regarding the brake system. Dealer says to monitor. We have been driving the car for about a week since, and have not experienced the same issue again.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 AUDI Q5. THE CONTACT STATE THAT THE VEHICLE INDEPENTLY ENGAGED THE COLLISION BRAKE SYSTEM ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THE FIRST WAS THE EVENING OF FEBRUARY 12TH AT APPROXIMATELY 19:00 EST. WHILE TRAVELING SOUTH ON LAHSER ROAD AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH WITH NO OTHER VEHICLES IN THE AREA THE VEHICLE SENSED A POTENTIAL FRONT END COLLISION AND APPLIED FULL BRAKES. THIS CAUSED LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE THE SECOND EVENT WAS MARCH 4 AT APPROXIMATELY 16:00 EST. WHILST DRIVING HOME I CAME TO A STOP AT THE LIGHT WITH A TRUCK IN FRONT OF MY VEHICLE. NO WARNING WAS DETECTED. AS THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME DEPARTED THE VEHICLE WARNING SYSTEM CAME ON. IT DID NOT APPLY BREAKS AT THIS TIME JUST A FALSE POSITIVE SENSOR WARNING. THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS PASSED OFF AS THE RESULT OF ICE, WHILE NOTICE SENSOR WARNING WAS EVIDENT THE SECOND INCIDENT WAS REPORTED TO THE DEALER ON MARCH 4 AND NO RESPONSE HAS BEEN RECEIVED. I FEEL THIS VEHICLE HAS TWICE PROVIDED UNSAFE ACTIONS AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BEFORE I HAVE A CHILD IN THE VEHICLE AND HAVE AN INCIDENT THAT HARMS AN INDIVIDUAL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AUDI OF ROCHESTER HILL 45441 DEQUINDRE ROAD ROCHESTER HILL MICHIGAN 48307 PHONE NUNBER (248)-997-7400 TO HAVE A DIAGNOSTIC PERFORMED THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THE VEHICLE COLLISION SYSTEM MALFUNCTION DUE TO ICE ON THE SENSOR. THE VIN INFORMATION WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 600.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 AUDI Q5. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE COLLISION ALERT SYSTEM INDEPENDENTLY ENGAGED THE BRAKE SYSTEM, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO SLOW DOWN. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO KEEP THE VEHICLE UNDER CONTROL AND REGAIN HIGHWAY SPEED. THE CONTACT BELIEVED THAT THE COLLISION SYSTEM MAY HAVE SENSED AN OBJECT IN THE ROAD AND CAUSED THE COLLISION SYSTEM TO ENGAGE. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE COLLISION ALERT SYSTEM ENGAGED WHEN THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO PARALLEL PARK. THE CONTACT SPOKE WITH AUDI BIRMINGHAM (1314 GRANTS MILL WAY, IRONDALE, AL 35210, (855) 627-3378) TO INQUIRE IF THE COLLISION ALERT SYSTEM COULD BE DISABLED. THE DEALER STATED THAT NOTHING COULD BE DONE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 12,000.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026